Construction efficiency measures our ability to maximize construction project outcomes. By taking into account all the resources at our disposal, we make a workflow that will help us minimize unexpected costs, hasten delivery, and ensure top quality.
Despite their best efforts, even experienced companies have trouble maximizing their efficiency. Simply put, there are so many variables during a construction project, so you’ll always have delays and added costs. For example, you can’t predict if a worker will get injured or sick or if some of the machines will suddenly break down.
In this article, we’ll share a few tricks that will help you boost productivity. Most of these practices are relatively easy to implement, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use them!
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Plan Projects
Through meticulous planning, you’re able to create a complete roadmap for your project. You’re able to outline milestones and determine how much time and money you’ll need during different phases. Among other things, a construction plan predicts potential challenges and outlines solutions that will help you overcome these problems.
The best way to tackle construction planning is through accuracy and specificity. Not only should you create a plan of things that have to be done, but you also need to detail how and when to do these things. During this phase, you need to assign tasks and responsibilities to your employees, which will help you stay on top of things.
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Enhance Communication
During a construction project, you’ll have to deal with numerous stakeholders. For example, you must stay in touch with engineers, architects, project managers, workers, clients, banks, and other physical and private entities. Handling all these people is quite tiresome, especially if you don’t use a proper channel of communication.
Smart business owners introduce project management and communication software that will help them track roles and responsibilities, issue commands, and communicate changes on the site. With the right programs, you ensure that everyone stays in the loop regarding the project’s progress, deadliness, bottlenecks, training, and safety protocols.
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Introduce Tech
When we talk about construction tech, most people think of financial and project management software. However, there are many other tools you’ll need to use on a daily basis.
For example, you might have to pay for a quality BIM (Building Information Modeling) solution to visualize your building in 3D. Many companies nowadays utilize portable time clock for construction as well, helping them keep track of their workforce at all times. Organizations even use smartwatches to track each employee’s physical state and location.
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Train Staff
Innovation has completely changed the construction industry. Nowadays, good workers are not only able to use basic tools, but they should also have a good understanding of AI-powered software and machinery. The best employees can tackle different tasks, and they rarely make mistakes while on-site.
Still, becoming a great worker doesn’t happen overnight. Your employees should receive continuous education to polish their skills, increase versatility, and enhance safety. Not only does training improve workers’ output, but it also leads to higher job satisfaction and, thus, higher retention.
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Manage Materials
Materials make up the biggest part of a construction budget. As such, enhancing your material management will have a major impact on your productivity. Through better management, you’re able to address delays, material waste, and added expenses. An effective process tackles everything from procurement to material use and disposal.
The best way to start is with a well-made forecast. You need to calculate how much material you’ll need for a project based on past data. You also need to create contingency plans in case materials become too expensive or if you’re unable to work with the same supplier. Find a way to safely store materials so they don’t get damaged by the elements.
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Maintain Your Equipment
Like material, equipment allows you to execute various daily tasks. This is why it’s so important to avoid sudden breakdowns that would delay the entire project by several days and even weeks. Besides leading to delays, malfunctioning equipment can also injure your staff, which will lead to further delays and potential litigation costs.
The good news is that you can now streamline your equipment maintenance with AI tech. These advanced solutions track each machine’s state and determine when you should perform routine fixes. However, you shouldn’t fully rely on AI. Hire experts to perform regular inspections to determine if everything’s functioning the way it is supposed to.
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Introduce Work Policies
People working for construction companies are usually hired on a project basis. Although many of them want to provide excellent service, they don’t have a special connection with the business. Furthermore, they might not understand what’s considered appropriate behavior.
To increase the team’s productivity, you must ensure everyone’s on the same page. You have to introduce various policies and align employees with your mission and vision. Introduce penalties for unprofessional behavior and give out bonuses to the best performers.
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Think About Safety
Construction site incidents are one of the main reasons behind bottlenecks. In this day and age, when construction workers earn almost as much as healthcare professionals, replacing a good handyman is extremely hard. If the accident was caused by your negligence, it might lead to a lawsuit that will cost your company more money.
The first thing you need to do is invest in quality protective gear, which includes helmets, eyewear, gloves, and other wearable equipment. Eliminate clutter to prevent potential tripping, introduce guardrails, and limit movement between zones. Another good measure is giving your staff smartwatches so you can monitor their biosignatures.
Conclusion
As a business owner, you must introduce various methods to improve staff performance and ensure seamless delivery of materials. You have to create an effective plan that will outline every phase of the project and address potential challenges.